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Spurlock Qualifies For U.S. Junior Team In 110m HH

USC freshman Oscar Spurlock placed second in the 110m high hurdles to qualify for the U.S. junior national team to highlight the Trojans' effort at the 2008 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. The top two finishers in each event earn a spot on the U.S. team that will compete at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in July.

Spurlock advanced to the finals in the 110m HH on Friday by posting the fourth-best qualifying time of 13.72, which tied his high school-height legal best time. The finals were held later in the day and he ran 13.801 to place second, .006 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher and earn a berth on the U.S. team slated to compete at the World Junior Championships in Poland. Spurlock placed sixth in the 110m HH with a time of 14.04 at the Pac-10 Championships.

Incoming freshman Erica Alexander of Clear Brook HS in Friendswood, Texas reached the finals in the 100m dash and the 400m race. On Friday, Alexander ran 11.74 in the 100m prelims to place fifth and advance to the finals later in the day. In the finals, Alexander placed sixth with a time of 11.59. She then came back on Saturday to compete in the women's 400m race and posted a time of 54.74, good for eighth place and a spot in Sunday's finals. In the finals, Alexander placed sixth with a time of 54.33.

Blake Shaw of Cypress Falls HS in Houston, Texas, who will also enroll at USC in the Fall, competed at the U.S. Junior Championships in the men's 800m race. On Friday he advanced to Saturday's finals by coming in 8th with a time of 1:52.15. In the finals, Shaw improved his time to 1:50.32, good for a sixth-place finish.

Trojan freshman Lauren Guerrieri also competed in the women's discus on Friday, but she had fouls on all three attempts. Guerrieri placed ninth in the discus at the Pac-10 Championships and was an NCAA West Regional qualifier in her first season at USC.